th's tightening nipples while massaging her own until elizabeth began to writhe. vlad wound the ribbon tighter around his fist and pulled hard with a wicked smile, making elizabeth cry out, but grow deadly still again.

lucrezia smiled against her breasts and slowly kissed down elizabeth's torso, her tiny pink tongue causing the bound woman to tremble. finally elizabeth's uncontrollable shudders gave way to openmouthed pants as lucrezia neared her mound, looked up for a moment, and began to slowly consume her.

although she remained stock-still, elizabeth's husky moans reverberated off the council walls, creating an echo chamber that aroused transporter bats and sent harpies into mating frenzies. but vlad wouldn't allow her to move. he stood behind lucrezia, naked, breathing hard with need, watching her limber spine dip and sway as her tongue tunneled into his wife's canal. lucrezia's graceful hands cupped his wife's thighs, her thumbs holding her lips open as she suckled elizabeth to tears.

wet sounds of tongue lapping against swollen, hot skin made nuit swallow hard as quietly as possible while lilith uncrossed her legs and opened them wide, allowing several of her harpies to slip beneath her gown hem.sebastian didn't move, his distress shown only by his slightly flared nostrils on each inhalation and exhalation.

but as lucrezia drove two fingers deep within elizabeth and suckled her clit, elizabeth made the fatal error of arching. a hard yank made her voice rent the air. lucrezia looked up over her shoulder at vlad, unsure. his eyes were hard, but his voice was filled with thick desire.

"go to her. comfort her . . . and i will comfort you."

immediately lucrezia slid up elizabeth's body and took her mouth, cradling her skull between her hands. her mound urgently mated with elizabeth's, causing more hot tears to slip from elizabeth's eyes, and then suddenly lucrezia arched with a thunderous moan as vlad entered her from behind. unable to help herself, lucrezia bucked against his slow steady thrusts, rubbing herself against elizabeth at the same time. but each time vlad's wife would become overwrought with passion and begin to move, he would punish her with the ribbons until she finally sobbed.

nuit squirmed uncomfortably in his throne as lilith hissed with pleasure from her harpies' attention. sebastian simply looked forward, gripping his armrests, barely able to breathe. then elizabeth's voice rent the air in a murderous scream as lucrezia came against her and yet vlad still would not allow her to move.

quickly, his breaths now hard pants, he unfurled the ribbons in his grasp and tied them around lucrezia's waist, binding both women together, belly to belly. kissing lucrezia deeply, he stared at her for a moment and then took elizabeth's mouth as he unsheathed himself from lucrezia. moving with deliberate speed, he slid under elizabeth so that her back pressed against his stomach, wrapping his arms around both her and lucrezia.

the moment his body touched the throne seat, all of the knowledge within it up to his reign and beyond it fused with his spine, causing him to arch and cry out. black current ran over his skin and the power of the charge made his fangs lengthen against his will. frenzied, he lifted his hips in a violent upthrust and entered elizabeth, pumping wildly, then leaving her body to seek lucrezia's, making both women writhe and moan and compete for his penetration. then the second the black charge drew back into the marble, the council chambers went dark, torches blew out, the throne became a four-posted bed under a blanket of carpathian stars.

still bound, both female vampires clawed at each other, trying to get more of their body surfaces to rub against the other as he serviced them with alternating thrusts. wails of passionate discontent bounced off thrones and the cavern walls, as his deep, growling responses bottomed out their pleas.

suddenly, he left elizabeth's body, focused on lucrezia until she heaved and climaxed, holding elizabeth's ribbons, making her shriek with need. as soon as lucrezia's body slumped, he released elizabeth's ribbons, mounted her savagely, and tore into her throat with massive fangs. her orgasm eclipsed his in force and voracity, knocking lilith's head back and making both nuit and sebastian shudder where they sat.

"bravo," lilith whispered, too dazed to even clap. "bravo. nuit . . . your coronation takes second place; there is simply no way to top a standard-bearer."

"he is the count," nuit admitted begrudgingly, his gaze riveted to lucrezia's naked body with longing. he then smirked at sebastian and glanced down at his fellow councilman's erection. "the harpies will oblige, but i don't suggest you even do that in vlad's presence."

sebastian closed his eyes, trying without success to shut out nuit's humor noir. the violent episode on the chamber floor passed slowly, and vlad made each star slowly fade with it, bringing the threesome back onto his throne nude and exhausted. he took up lucrezia's hand and kissed the back of it.

"thank you, fair lady," he said, breathing hard as he helped lucrezia off of his lap. "i couldn't have done this installation properly without you."

lucrezia blew him a kiss. "the pleasure was allmine , count dracula."

elizabeth's fingers sought vlad's now wild profusion of brunet hair and his tangled in hers, blood staining the corners of their mouths. her gaze sought his, searching his face with deep passion. he kissed his wife gently, not watching lucrezia return to nuit.

"and thank you, beloved," vlad murmured against his wife's bloodied throat. "after we feed, i will bring you justice as my fair exchange gift for another lifetime gift that you've given me . . . this time under the sun. the neterus will die."